Room air conditioner

ABSTRACT

A room air conditioner having a relatively short front to back dimension made possible by a novel compact arrangement of the condenser, compressor and evaporator on the chassis of the unit in combination with a novel air flow pattern through the unit. The interior of the air conditioner casing is divided lengthwise by an upright partition into a rear compartment in which the condenser and compressor are located and a front compartment in which the evaporator and blower are arranged. The blower is of the axial intake, radial discharge type and has its inlet facing the partition rather than the front grille of the unit so as to reduce the noise incident to the high velocity air stream. The unit also includes a pair of ventilating doors on the partition arranged to be operated by a single manually operable control knob for selectively admitting outside air to the room and discharging room air to the outside. The front grille inside the room is provided with a novel air scoop and vane arrangement for directing the conditioned air effectively in the desired direction. The air conditioner also includes in the condenser compartment a slinger ring and deflector arrangement for picking up evaporator condensate and depositing it on the coils of the condenser to evaporate the condensate and discharge it from the unit with the condenser cooling air.

United States Patent 1191 Woods I 111'] 3,783,637 Jan. 8, 1974 ROOM AIRCONDITIONER [76] Inventor: Norman W. Woods, c/o Keep Rite Products Ltd.,Brantford, Ontario, Canada [22] Filed: Mar. 6, 1972 g 21 Appl. No.3231,905" i Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part ofSer. No. 21,105, March 19,

1970, abandoned.

52] -U.s.c1;..; ..62/427,62/'2'62,62/263 62/429, 98/94' [51] Int.Cl...... F25d 17/06 [58] Field of Search 62/262, 263, 427,- 62/261, 428,429; 98/94 AC [56] I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,472,7926/1949 Cohler 62/262 2,7l L088 6/1955 Hess 62/262 2,730,873 l/l956Hardin 62 262 2,835,186 5 1958 Goldsmnh 62/427 2,960,924 11/1960 Grott98/94 Ac 2,986,016 5 1961 Gillham 62/262 3,119,242 1/1964 Kramer.....62/429 3,194,028 7 1965 Bell... 62/427 3,472,044 l0/l969 Koenig 62/2623,492,833 2/1970 Marsteller 62/262 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Borrow From YourWindow Air Conditioner, Popular Mechanics, 'page 169; June 1961.

Primary Examinerwilliam Wye I Attorney-Barnes, Kisselle, Raisch & Choate ABSTRACT A room air conditioner havinga relatively short front toback dimension made possible byanovel compact arrangement of thecondenser, compressor and evaporator on the chassis of the unit incombination with a novel air flow pattern through the unit. The interiorof the air conditioner casing is divided lengthwise by an uprightpartition into a rearcompartment in which the condenser and compressorare located and a front compartment in which the evaporator and blowerare arranged. The blower is of the axial intake, radial dis-- chargetype and has its inlet facing the partition rather than the front grilleof the unit so as to reduce the noise incident to the high velocity airstream. The unit also includes a pair of ventilating doors on thepartition arranged to be operated by a single manually operable controlknob for selectively admitting outside air to the room and dischargingroom'air to the outside. The front grille inside the roo m is providedwith a novel air scoop and vane arrangement'for directing theconditioned air effectively in the desired direction. The airconditioner also includes in the condenser compartment a slinger' ringand deflector arrangement for picking up evaporator condensate anddepositing it on the coils of the condenser to evaporate the condensateand discharge it from the unit with the condenser cooling air. 1

19 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 81m sum 1 0F 8 NORMAN W.

INVENTOR WOODS ATTORNEYS PATENTEUJAN 8:974

SHEET 3 BF 8 'NV'E-NTOR NORMAN W. Wooos 0. 0Q v@ Qtv8 ft f 4w UEATTORNEYS PATENTEU 81974 3,783,637

sum u 0F 8 NORMAN W. Woovs ATTORNEYS PATENTEDMN 81w 3.783.537

SHEET 5 [IF 8 PIC-7 INVENTOR NORMAN W. Wooos ATTORNEYS PATENTED JAN81974 IX RMAN W. Wooos ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJAN 8% 3,788,637

SHEET 8 BF 8 Fae. l2

FIC':.| NORMAN W. Wooos XMQ/ W ATTORNEYS ROOM AIR CONDITIONER Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Ser. No.021,105, filed Mar. 19, 1970, entitled ROOM AIR CONDITIONER, nowabandoned.

This invention relates to a room air conditioner of the type adapted tobe mounted in an outside wall or window opening of a room.

One of the shortcomings of the room air conditioners as presentlyconstructed resides in the excessive depth of the unit in a fore-and-aftdirection which results in an excessive overhang on either the inside orthe outside of the wall in which the unit is mounted. In addition, airconditioners of this type normally have a blower fan for the evaporatorwhich has its inlet facing the front grille and produces excessivenoise. This is particularly disturbing in a relatively small room, suchas a bedroom, where such noise may interfere with a persons ability tosleep or rest.

Further shortcomings of such air conditioners involve the inability todirect the conditioned air into the room at a relatively steep, upwardlyinclined direction, the lack of a conveniently operable and effectiveventing system and the lack of an efficient and economical arrangementfor condensate removal.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision ofa room type air conditioner designed to avoid the above-mentionedshortcomings.

More specifically, the room air conditioner of the present invention hasa condenser, compressor, evaporator and blower arranged in the airconditioner casing such that the overall dimension of the unit in aforeand-aft direction is relatively short and thus reduces to a minimumthe overhang of the unit on either the inside or the outside of the wallin which it is mounted. The interior of the unit is divided by anupright insulated partition into a rear compressor-condenser compartmentand a front evaporator-blower compartment. The evaporator compartment isfurther divided by a generally horizontal partition into a lower airinlet chamber in which the evaporator is located and an upper air outletchamber. The evaporator blower fan is of the axial intake, radialdischarge type and has its inlet in the lower chamber facing the uprightpartition and its outlet in the upper chamber. Thus, the blower drawsroom air into the lower chamber across the coils of the evaporator andthendirects the air upwardly into the upperv chamber and out through thefront grille of the casing into the room. The grille includes a movableair scoop with a plurality of adjustable vanes thereon which enable theair to be directed at a steeply-inclined upward angle.

In a modified form of the air conditioner the front grille of the casingis blocked at the outlet of the upper chamber and an opening is formedin the top wall so that the conditioned air can be directed to anauxiliary outlet duct which can be extended vertically or laterally.

The condenser is located adjacent the rear open end of the rearcompartment and a fan is located between the condenser and the uprightpartition so as to draw outside air into the rear compartment across thecoils of the condenser, direct the air laterally across the rearcompartment and then outwardly through the rear wall of the casing tothe outside atmosphere. A slinger ring on the condenser fan projectsinto a well in which condensate from the evaporator collects. Thecondensate picked up by the slinger ring is impelled in a generally 2upward direction tangentially of the slinger ring against a deflectorabove the slinger ring which directs the condensate onto the condensercoils so that it evaporates and is discharged with the condenser coolingair.

The air conditioner of this invention also includes a novel ventilatingarrangement including two doors on the upright partition for controllingair communication between the rear compartment and the evaporatorchamber of the front compartment and between the rear compartment andthe upper air outlet chamber of the front compartment. The two doors arecontrolled by a single manually-operable knob for selectively admittingoutside air into the room and for exhausting room air to the outside.

Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom the accompanying description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a room air conditioner accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view along in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view along line 3-3 in FIG. 2 andgenerally showing the ventilating door arrangement on the uprightpartition within the unit.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 showingthe deflector baffle for directing the evaporator condensate onto thecoils of the condenser.

FIG. 4a is a sectional view along line 4a-14a in FIG. 3 showing the lostmotion connection between the spindles of the two ventilating doors.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view along line 5-5 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view along line 6-6 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view along line 7-7 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the bottom pan of the air conditioner chasis.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line 9-9 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the front grille of the airconditioner showing the adjustable air outlet grille section.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view along line 11-11 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view along line 12-12 in FIG. 1 and showingdetails of the adjustable air outlet grille section. 2

FIG. 13 is a sectional view along line 13-13 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale along line14-14 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale along line15-15 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the air conditioner modified to directair to an adjoining room.

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary view, with parts broken away, of the airconditioner shown in FIG. 16.

FIGS. 16 and 19 show further modifications of the air conditioner.

1 Referring first to FIGS. 5 through '7, the air conditioner includes anouter sheet metal casing 10 in the form of a rectangular sleeve having atop wall 12, a bottom wall 14 and opposite end walls 16. The rear sideof casing 10 is closed by a panel 18 provided with louvers 20 throughoutsubstantially the entire extent thereof. The front open end of casing 10is closed by a removable grille 22. A 'chasis 24 is slideably arrangedline 2-2 within casing 10. Chasis 24 includes a bottom pan 26 which isslideably supported on a pair of inverted channel-shaped rails 28extending from front to back on the top side of bottom wall 14 (FIG. 3)and an inverted U- shaped rail 30 extending lengthwise on the inside ofbottom wall 14 adjacent, but spaced from, the rear edge thereof (FIGS. 6and 7).

At each end of bottom pan 26 there is mounted an upright panel; theseupright panels are designated 32 and 34. Between panels 32 and 34 andrunning lengthwise within the interior of casing there is an uprightpartition 36. The opposite vertical end edges of partition 36 aresuitably secured to panels 32,34, respectively. Panels 32,34 andpartition 36 extend the full height within casing 10 and divide theinterior of the casing into a rear compartment 38 and a frontcompartment 40. Chasis 24 is sealed within outer casing 10 generallyaround the periphery of partition 36 by plastic foam strips 42 betweenthe end walls 16 of the casing and the end panels 32,34, a similar strip44 between the bottom wall 14 of the casing and the bottom pan 26 and anadditional similar sealing strip 46 between the top wall 12 of thecasing and the upper flanged edge 48 of partition 36.

The lower flanged edge 50 of partition 36 is disposed within a groove 52(FIGS. 7 and 8) recessed into the bottom pan 26 of the chasis 24.Actually the bottom pan 26 is formed with two grooves 52 into which thelower end of partition 36 can be selectively located depending upon thesize of the air conditioning unit. Upright partition 36 has a layer ofsound and heat insulation material 56 on opposite sides thereofthroughout a major portion of its extent.

Within compartment 38 there is arranged directly adjacent the backlouvered panel 18 an upright, finned coil condenser 58. Condenser 58 islocated adjacent one end of compartment 38. Adjacent the opposite end ofcompartment 38 there is located a motorcompressor unit 60. A motor 62 incompartment 38 has a fan 64 mounted on one end of its shaft 66. As isshown in FIG. 7, the blades of fan 64 extend radially outwardly beyondmotor 62 and axially overlap the outer periphery of the motor. Fan 64 islocated directly adjacent the inner upright face of condenser'58. Ashroud 68 extends from the inner face of condenser 58 around theperiphery of fan 64 such that when the fan is rotated outside air isdrawn inwardly through louvers by the fan, through condenser 58 and intocompartment 38. This outside air is then directed laterally by a curveddeflector 69 located over the fan (FIG. 3) generally in the direction ofthe arrows 70 in FIG. 2 and outwardly through the portion of louveredpanel 18 behind compressor unit 60.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, within front compartment 40 there isarranged a horizontal partition 72 which divides compartment 40 into anupper air outlet chamber 74 and a lower air inlet chamber 76. A finnedcoil evaporator 78 is located in an upright position in lower chamber 76directly adjacent the front grille 22. An electric resistance heatingelement 80 is also arranged in lower compartment in an upright fashionbetween evaporator 78 and partition 36. As shown in FIG. 2, evaporator78 is located within casing 10 adjacent the end thereof oppositecondenser 58.

Shaft 66 of motor 62 extends through partition 36 and an impeller 82 ismounted on the end thereof within compartment 40. A blower housing 84extends around impeller 82 and is provided with an axial inlet opening86 to the impeller. As shown in FIG. 2, opening 86 is located on theside of housing 84 facing partition 36. The opposite side wall 88 ofblower housing 84 is imperforate. Housing 84 is generally located in thelower chamber 76 of compartment 40. However, the housing has a radiallydisposed outlet opening 90 (FIGS. 5 and 7) formed in partition 72. Acurved air deflector (FIGS. 1 and 5) 92 in upper chamber 74 overliesoutlet opening 90 and is shaped such that the air discharged upwardlythrough opening 90 is directed laterally-across upper chamber 74 and isdischarged from the upper chamber through the central upper grillesection 94 (FIG. 1). Thus, with the blower arrangement illustrated, whenmotor 62 is operating impeller 82 draws air into lower chamber 76through the open grille section 96, across the coils of evaporator 78and into blower housing 84 through the axial inlet opening 86. The airis then discharged radially upwardly through outlet 90 into the upperchamber 74 and then outwardly back into the room through section 94 ofthe front grille 22. With this arrangement, since the inlet opening 86to blower housing 84 faces insulated partition 36, the sound incident tothe operation of blower 82 is dampened considerably and the siren effectnormally produced when a blower has its inlet facing the front grille issubstantially eliminated.

As is shown in FIG. 3, partition 36 is formed with two openings and 102therein. These openings are vertically spaced so that the upper opening100 establishes communication between rear compartment 38 and the upperair outlet chamber 74 of front compartment 40 and lower opening 102establishes communication between rear compartment 38 and the lower airinlet chamber 76 of front compartment 40. Opening 100 is controlled by adoor 104 and opening 102 is controlled by a door 106. Each of the doorsis mounted for pivotal movement by vertically extending spindles, theupper spindle being designated 108 and the lower spindle 110. As shownin FIG. 3 these spindles are vertically aligned and are journalled onpartition 36 by brackets 112 and a central bearing portion 114 onhorizontal partition 72.

The lower end of spindle 108 has an axial projection 116 which projectsinto the upper end of lower spindle 110. Upper spindle 108 has at itslower end a diametrically extending rib 118 which extends intoan'angular slot 120 in the upper end of spindle 110. Slot 120 has acircumferential extent slightly greater than the thickness of rib 118 soas to provide a lost motion rotary connection between the two spindles.A torsion spring 122 urges upper door 104 to a normally closed position.Likewise, when door 104 closes opening 100, rib 118 engages the flatsides 124 of slot 120 (FIG. 4a) so that door 106 is also urged to aposition closing opening 102.

Doors 104 and 106 are adapted to be adjusted by means of a control rod128 connected to upper door 104 as at 130 and extending through anupright partition 132 in upper chamber 74. Partition 132 defines controlcompartment 134 at one end of upper chamber 74. Within controlcompartment 134 conventional controls are enclosed for manuallyadjusting the operation of the unit. The controls in compartment 134 areprovided with control knobs 136 at the front side of front grille 22(FIG. 1). One of the controls in compartment 134 includes a ventilatingcontrol which comprises a rotatably supported shaft 138 (FIG. 3) onwhich an arm 140 is fixed. Control rod 128 is connected to arm 140 as at142. The upper end of arm 140 is offset inwardly from the lower endthereof and the pivotal movement of arm 140 in opposite directionsthrough about 180 is limited by a pair of stops 144. A leaf spring 146is adapted to engage and retain the lower end of arm 140 when in theupright position shown in broken lines in FIG. 3.

When control knob 136 connected to shaft 138 is rotated in a clockwisedirection as viewed in FIG. 3 from the position shown in solid lines tothe generally vertically extending broken line position, top door 104 isopened slightly (for example, about 22") while bottom door 106 remainsclosed by reason of the lost motion connection provided by rib 118 andslot 120. The arm 140 is releasably retained in this position by leafspring 146. When shaft 138 is rotated further in a clockwise directiontop door 104 continues to open and bottom door 106 begins to open. Whenarm 140 is rotated 180 (the inclined position shown in broken lines),the top door 104 is open to about 52 and bottom door 106 is open toabout 30. When arm 140 is rotated 180 it abuts against lower stop 144and is retained in this position since the connection 142 has shiftedover center. With this arrangement if it is desired to merely exhaust aportion of the room air, arm 140 is rotated to the upright position sothat only door 104 is open. Since the pressure in upper chamber 74 isslightly above atmospheric and the pressure in rear compartment 38 isslightly below atmospheric a portion of the room air directed into theupper chamber 74 by blower 82 escapes through opening 100. If it isdesired to simultaneously exhaust room air to the outside and admitoutside air to the room, then arm 140 is rotated clockwise to a positionbeyond the upright broken line position shown in FIG. 4 so as to openboth doors 104 and 106. Spring 146 enables arm 140 to be rotated to andretained in a position intermediate the upright broken line position andthe fully rotated position in which upper door 104 would be open toabout 26 and bottom door 106 opened to about 4. Thus, a single controlknob 136 can be utilized for selectively obtaining the type and extentof ventilation desired.

Referring now to FIGS. ,8 and 9, the configuration of bottom pan 26 isshown. The rear portion thereof is generally flat as indicated at l50and is provided with a drain opening 152 controlled by a temperatureresponsive valve 154. At a temperature above a predetermined value (forexample, 40 F.) valve 154 closes opening 152 and below a predeterminedtemperature valve 154 opens drain opening 152. Thus, when the outsidetemperature drops to near freezing, valve 154 opens and permits anywater accumulating in bottom pan 26 to drain out through opening 152.Water is permitted to accumulate in bottom pan 26 by reason of theupstanding peripheral lip 155.

The front end portion of bottom pan 26 is generally elevated above therear portion 150 as indicated at 156. The front end portion 156 isprovided with a pair of embossments 158 which are adapted to rest uponthe inverted channels 28 on the wall 14 of casing (FIG. 3) so as tosupport the air conditioner as a whole in a generally level position.Front portion 156 is also formed with a depressed trough section 159 inwhich water is adapted to collect. Between the front portion 156 and therear portion 150 the wall of bottom pan 2 6 slopes downwardly through achannel portion 160 connected with trough 159 so that any condensate orother water which tends to accumulate in trough 159 drains downwardlytowards the rear end of the bottom pan and drains out through the bottompan in the event valve 154 is open.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 7, it will be observed that fan 64includes a peripheral slinger ring 162 around the outer periphery of thefan blades. At its lower end slinger ring 162 extends downwardly intothe depressed portion 150 of bottom pan 26 so that it will be submergedin any water collecting in the lower portion of the bottom pan. Directlyabove slinger ring 162 there is arranged a deflector 164. Deflector 164has a flat portion 166 supported on the upper edge of shroud 68 and arearwardly extending portion 168 which inclines downwardly over theupper end of condenser 58 (FIG. 7). The under side of flat portion 166of the deflector is fashioned with a plurality of arcuate ribs 170 (FIG.5) so that the water picked up by the slinger ring and impelledtangentially upwardly against the deflector strikes the arcuate ribs 170and'is caused to flow along the under side of deflector 164 downwardlyover the upper end of condenser 58. As the water drips off the inclinedportion 168 of deflector 164 onto the hot coils of the condenser it isevaporated and picked up by the air stream flowing into rear compartment38 and discharged therefrom through the rear louvered panel 18 in thedirection of arrows 70 (FIG. 2).

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 10 through 15, the construction of theoutlet grille section 94 of front grille 22 is illustrated. This grillesection comprises a generally rectangular frame section 172 formedintegrally with front grille 22. Frame section 172 defines a generallyrectangular opening 174 in which an air scoop 176 is arranged. Air scoop176 is fashioned with a pair of end walls 178 and an arcuate bottom wall180. The upper ends of end walls 178 are interconnected by a horizontalstrut 182 and an upright vertical strut 184 is located centrally betweenthe end walls 178 and interconnects the arcuate bottom wall with the tophorizontal strut 182. The upper front comers of upper end walls 178 areformed with pintles 186 (FIGS. 14 and 15) which are pivotally supportedin openings 188 in frame 172. Pintles 186 are located at the axis ofcurvature of bottom wall 180.

The front vertical edge portion of each side wall 178 is fashioned witha plurality of vertically spaced sockets 190 which are adapted toreceive pintle portions 192 formed at the ends of horizontally extendingvanes 194. As shown in FIG. 14, pintle portions 192 are formed adjacentthe front or leading edges of vanes 194. Intermediate their oppositeends vanes .194 are notched as at 196 (FIG. 11) to accommodate verticalstrut 184. Strut 184 is likewise formed with a plurality of verti callyspaced sockets 198 for receiving pintle portions 200 formed at thenotched portion 196 of vanes 194. Thus, each of the vertically spacedvanes 194 is pivotally supported on air scoop 176 adjacent the front orleading edges thereof. 7

At one end each of the vanes 194 is notched at the rear corner thereofas indicated at 202 in FIG. 15. A link 204 extends vertically in thenotched sections 202 and interconnects each of the vanes as by a smallpintle portion 206 on each vane. A pair of slightly bowed springs 208 isarranged between the flat faces of link' 204 and theadjacent end wall178 of air scoop 176.

Referring to FIG. 12, the flexible seal and tension strip 212 is locatedalong the lower edge of opening 174 in frame 172. Sealing strip 212 isadapted to frictionally engage the outer surface of arcuate bottom wall180 of air scoop 176 so as to frictionally retain the air scoop in theposition to which it is manually adjusted by means of a handle 214extending forwardly from the front edge of bottom wall 180 at the centerthereof.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, air scoop 176 is adapted to be pivoted fromthe retracted position shown in FIG. 12 to the outwardly extendedposition shown in FIG. 13. The air scoop is retained in the fullyextended position by a lug 216 at the rear edge of bottom wall 180 whichengages with the flexible sealing strip 212. In addition, it will benoted that vanes 194 are adapted to be pivotally adjusted from agenerally horizontally extending position such as shown in FIG. 12 to aposition where they incline downwardly at their rear edges. Since vanes194 are pivotally supported adjacent the front edges, when the vanes areadjusted to the position shown in FIG. 13 the air flowing outwardlythrough the vanes is directed upwardly at a steep angle. The angularityof the vanes is determined not only by the inclination of the vanesrelative to air scoop 176 but also by the angular position of air scoop176 relative to the front grille 22. Thus, in the position shown in FIG.13 the air flowing through the vanes would be directed upwardly at asteep angle toward the ceiling of the room. This arrangement is highlydesirable since in many instances the flow of air in a generallyhorizontal direction from the outlet of the air conditioner would beobjectionable to a person located near and directly in front of grille22. It will furthermore be noted that since vanes 194 can be adjusted toincline downwardly at their lower edges the lowest vane 194 effectivelyprevents any substantial air flow between the lower edge of the bottomvane and bottom wall 180 when the vanes are adjusted to the positionshown in FIG. 13.

The unit described is adapted to be used in winter weather as a heaterby energizing heating coil 80 and simply operating motor 62 so that roomair will be drawn into casing through grille section 96 and heated airwill be directed back into the room through grille section 94.

In the modified arrangements shown in FIGS. 16 through 19 the airconditioner construction and the arrangements of the components thereinare substantially the same as previously described, except with respectto the air outlet arrangement for the upper air outlet chamber 74. Inthe modified construction shown in these figures the upper wall ofchamber 74 is formed with a generally rectangular opening 220 directlyabove the outlet opening 90 formed in partition 72 (see FIG. 5). The topwall 12 of the air conditioner casing is likewise formed with an opening222 which registers vertically with opening 220. A sealing strip 224 isarranged between these openings. In this arrangement deflector 92 (FIGS.1 and 2) is removed so that the air directed out of the outlet 90 of theblower housing 84 is enabled to flow directly upwardly through openings220,222. An auxiliary air duct 226 is arranged on top wall 12 of casing10 overlying opening 222. Air duet 226 is of generally rectangular crosssection and provided with a cap 228 at one end. At its other endauxiliary duct 226 is connected to a lateral duct extension 230 whichextends through a wall 232 which divides the room in which the airconditioner is located from an adjoining room. Within duct 226 in aposition overlying outlet opening 222 there is arranged an air deflectordamper 234 which comprises an arcuate shield 236 mounted on an arm 2 38pivotally supported on duct 226 as at 240. Shield 236 is shaped anddimensioned so that in the solid line position shown in FIG. 17 theshield engages top wall 12 as at 242 at one end and at its other end ittangentially engages the top wall 244 of auxiliary duct 226 at 246. Inthis solid line position of damper 234 the maximum amount of airdischarged from the blower will be directed into auxiliary duct 226. Ifdamper 234 is arranged so that arm 238 extends vertically, then abouthalf of the total air from the blower is directed into auxiliary duct226 and the remaining amount of air is directed outwardly through frontgrille section 94. If damper 234 is adjusted to the broken line positionshown in FIG. 17, then a lesser amount of air will be directed into duct226 than is directed outwardly through grille section 94. Thus, with thearrangement shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 a portion of the cooled air orheated air from the air conditioner can be selectively directed into theauxiliary duct 226 and into an adjoining room.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 18 is generally the same as that shown inFIGS. 16 and 17 except that duct 226 is provided with a second lateralextension duct 248 instead of the end cap shown at 228. In thisarrangement extension ducts 226 and 248 are provided with outlet grilles250 on the top walls thereof for directing air vertically upwardly atdesired locations. A similar outlet grille may also be located in thetop wall of auxiliary duct 226. This arrangement has utility in theevent that the air conditioner is located at a large window wall. It isunderstood, of course, that in the arrangement shown in FIG. 18 damper234 is omitted and the front grille section 94 is blocked by animperforate panel 252. y

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 19 the air conditioner is formed withthe outlet openings 220,222 and the grille section 94 is likewiseblocked by an imperforate panel 252. However a vertically extending duct254 is extended upwardly from the air conditioner to adjacent theceiling 256 of the room. Adjacent the upper end of duct 254 there isprovided an outlet grille 258 for directing the cooled air from theconditioner upwardly and outwardly adjacent the ceiling of the room.

The front face of duct 254 is designed to form the wall surface of theroom in which the air conditioner is located. Thus, in the versionillustrated in FIG. 19, duct 254 can be prefabricated as a modular wallsection and 'installed at the building site as a single assembly.

I claim:

1. A room air conditioner of the type adapted to be mounted in anoutside wall of a room comprising a casing having front and rear panels,opposite end panels and a top panel, an upright partition in said casingextending lengthwise therein and dividing the interior of the easinginto a rear compartment and a front compartment, an upright generallyflat condenserin therear compartment extending generally parallel to andadjacent said rear panel, a compressor unit in said rear compartmentlocated laterally adjacent the other end of said compartment, saidcompressor unit and condenser being disposed in end to end relation in adirection laterally of said end compartment with the rear side of thecompressor unit disposed adjacent said rear panel, a fan motor in saidrear compartment disposed between said condenser and said partition,said motor having an output shaft extending transversely and throughsaid partition, a fan on said shaft within said rear compartment andlocated adjacent the condenser, said rear compartment having openingstherein so that when the fan is operated air is directed across thecondenser, an upright generally flat evaporator in said frontcompartment, said evaporator extending generally parallel to andadjacent said panel, said evaporator being located in said frontcompartment laterally adjacent the end thereof opposite the condenser, ablower in said front compartment located laterally adjacent the otherend of said front compartment, said evaporator and said blower beinglocated in end to end relation in a direction laterally of said frontcompartment, said blower'having an impellor connected to the portion ofsaid motor shaft extending through said partition and having an axialair intake and a radially disposed outlet, said axial air intake of theblower facing said partition and being spaced forwardly therefrom, airinlet and outlet openings in said front compartment disposed such thatwhen the blower is operated room air is drawn across the evaporator,into the inlet of said blower and is then directed through the bloweroutlet and back into the room.

2. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 1 including means forming ahorizontal partition in said front com,- partment above said evaporatorand above said blower intake, said horizontal partition dividing saidfront compartment into top and bottom chambers, the outlet of saidblower extending upwardly through said horizontal partition fordischarging air from the lower chamber into the upper chamber, saidfront compartment having an air inlet below and an air outlet above saidhorizontal partition so that when the blower is operated roomair isdrawn into said lower chamber through said last-mentioned air inlet,across said evaporator and is directed by the blower into said upperchamber and then outwardly through said lastmentioned air outlet backinto the room.

3. A room airconditioner including a casing having an upright partitiontherein dividing the interior of the casing into front and rearcompartments, a condensing unit in said rear compartment, means fordrawing outside air into said rear compartment across said condensingunit and then discharging said air to the outside, a partition in saidfront compartment dividing the front compartment into an air inletchamber and an air outlet chamber, an evaporator in said air inletchamber, means for drawing room air into said inlet chamber dle by meansof which the doors are pivotally supported, each of said spindles beingsupported for rotation about their longitudinal axes on said uprightpartition and each of said doors being pivotable with and in response torotation of its respective spindle, said second partition extendinggenerally horizontally between said two openings, said spindles beingaxially aligned vertically one above the other with their adjacent endsinterconnected by a rotary lost motion coupling, both of said doorsbeing adapted to be pivoted to the open position by rotation of saidspindles in the same direction.

4. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 3 wherein said couplingincludes a radially extending lug at the end of one of said spindles andan angular slot in the end of the other spindle into which said lugextends, said lug permitting said one door to open a predeterminedextent before establishing an operating connection with the slot in theend of the other spindle.

5. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 3 including a single controlrod operatively connected with said upper door and adapted to operatesaid lower door through said coupling.

6. A room air conditioner including a casing having a front grille, anevaporator in said casing positioned adjacent the front grille, a blowerinv said casing for drawing room air into said casing through theportion of the grille adjacent the evaporator and for discharging theconditioned air back into the room through another portion of thegrille, said blower being of the axial intake, radial discharge type, agenerally imperforate upright partition in said casing spaced inwardlyfrom said front grille and defining at least in part a compartment inwhich said evaporator and said blower are disposed, said blower havingitsinlet facing inwardly of the casing toward said partition.

7. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 6 wherein said partition hasa sound insulating material on the side thereof facing the inlet of theblower.

8. An air conditioner as set forthin claim 6 wherein said compartmenthas a generally horizontally extending partition therein dividing saidcompartment into a lower evaporator chamber and an upper air out-letchamber, the outlet of said blower communicating with said upperchamber.

9. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 6 wherein the outlet of theblower extends upwardly through said horizontal partition,

10. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 6 including means connectedwith the outlet of the blower and forming a duct extending to said otherportion of the front grille. 1

11. An air conditioning unit comprising a casing having top, bottom,end, front and rear panels, a partition in said casing dividing thecasing into a front compartment and a rear compartment, acompressor-condenser unit in said rear compartment, an evaporator insaid front compartment, a fan motor in said rear compartment having anoutput shaft extending transversely through said partition into saidfront compartment, a blower in said front compartment having an impellorconnected to the portion of the motor shaft extending through thepartition, said blower having an axial air intake and a radiallydisposed air outlet, said axial air intake of the blower facing saidpartition and'being spaced forwardly therefrom, means forming air inletsuch that when the blower is operated it draws air into said frontcompartment through said air inlet means, across said evaporator tocondition the air and then directs the air outwardly through saidlast-mentioned air outlet means.

12. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 11 wherein said radialoutlet directs air generally vertically upwardly in said frontcompartment.

13. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 12 wherein said air outletmeans comprises an opening in said top panel.

14. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 12 wherein said air outletmeans comprises an opening in said top panel generally verticallyaligned with said radially disposed outlet of said blower.

15. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 12 wherein said air outletmeans comprises an opening in said top panel and including means formingan air duct communicating with the outlet means in said top panel, saidduct having an outlet opening therein located remotely from the airoutlet means in the top panel.

16. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 15 wherein said ductextends vertically upwardly from said top panel and the outlet openingtherein is located adjacent the upper end thereof.

17. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 15 wherein said ductextends laterally beyond said casing and the outlet opening therein islocated adjacent an end thereof disposed laterally beyond the casing.

18. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 15 wherein the air outletmeans for the front compartment also includes an opening in the frontpanel of the cas- 19. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 18including means for varying the amount of air from the blower outletdirected outwardly of said front compart ment into said duct and out ofthe opening in the front panel of the casing.

12% I UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE Q CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 3,783,637 d. January 8,' 1974 Inventoz-( WOODS, Norman W.

It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent andthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Indicate the Assignee as follows:

KeepRite Products Limited Brantford, Ontario, Canada Add thefo1lowing"figures: 16, 1-7, '-l8' and 19 as shown on the attached sheet;

Signed and sealed this- 10th day of December 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

.McCOY M. GIBSON JR; c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer 5Commission'erof Patents-

1. A room air conditioner of the type adapted to be mounted in anoutside wall of a room comprising a casing having front and rear panels,opposite end panels and a top panel, an upright partition in said casingextending lengthwise therein and dividing the interior of the casinginto a rear compartment and a front compartment, an upright generallyflat condenser in the rear compartment extending generally parallel toand adjacent said rear panel, a compressor unit in said rear compartmentlocated laterally adjacent the other end of said compartment, saidcompressor unit and condenser being disposed in end to end relation in adirection laterally of said end compartment with the rear side of thecompressor unit disposed adjacent said rear panel, a fan motor in saidrear compartment disposed between said condenser and said partition,said motor having an output shaft extending transversely and throughsaid partition, a fan on said shaft within said rear compartment andlocated adjacent the condenser, said rear compartment having openingstherein so that when the fan is operated air is directed across thecondenser, an upright generally flat evaporator in said frontcompartment, said evaporator extending generally parallel to andadjacent said panel, said evaporator being located in said frontcompartment laterally adjacent the end thereof opposite the condenser, ablower in said front compartment located laterally adjacent the otherend of said front compartment, said evaporator and said blower beinglocated in end to end relation in a direction laterally of said frontcompartment, said blower having an impellor connected to the portion ofsaid motor shaft extending through said partition and having an axialair intake and a radially disposed outlet, said axial air intake of theblower facing said partition and being spaced forwardly therefrom, airinlet and outlet openings in said front compartment disposed such thatwhen the blower is operated room air is drawn across the evaporator,into the inlet of said blower and is then directed through the bloweroutlet and back into the room.
 2. An air conditioner as set forth inclaim 1 including means forming a horizontal partition in said frontcompartment above said evaporator and abovE said blower intake, saidhorizontal partition dividing said front compartment into top and bottomchambers, the outlet of said blower extending upwardly through saidhorizontal partition for discharging air from the lower chamber into theupper chamber, said front compartment having an air inlet below and anair outlet above said horizontal partition so that when the blower isoperated room air is drawn into said lower chamber through saidlast-mentioned air inlet, across said evaporator and is directed by theblower into said upper chamber and then outwardly through saidlast-mentioned air outlet back into the room.
 3. A room air conditionerincluding a casing having an upright partition therein dividing theinterior of the casing into front and rear compartments, a condensingunit in said rear compartment, means for drawing outside air into saidrear compartment across said condensing unit and then discharging saidair to the outside, a partition in said front compartment dividing thefront compartment into an air inlet chamber and an air outlet chamber,an evaporator in said air inlet chamber, means for drawing room air intosaid inlet chamber across the evaporator, directing said air into saidoutlet chamber and then discharging the air back into the room, saidupright partition having a pair of openings therein, one of saidopenings establishing communication between said rear compartment andsaid outlet chamber and the other opening establishing communicationbetween said rear compartment and said inlet chamber, a door forcontrolling each of said openings, each of said doors being providedwith a vertical spindle by means of which the doors are pivotallysupported, each of said spindles being supported for rotation abouttheir longitudinal axes on said upright partition and each of said doorsbeing pivotable with and in response to rotation of its respectivespindle, said second partition extending generally horizontally betweensaid two openings, said spindles being axially aligned vertically oneabove the other with their adjacent ends interconnected by a rotary lostmotion coupling, both of said doors being adapted to be pivoted to theopen position by rotation of said spindles in the same direction.
 4. Anair conditioner as set forth in claim 3 wherein said coupling includes aradially extending lug at the end of one of said spindles and an angularslot in the end of the other spindle into which said lug extends, saidlug permitting said one door to open a predetermined extent beforeestablishing an operating connection with the slot in the end of theother spindle.
 5. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 3 including asingle control rod operatively connected with said upper door andadapted to operate said lower door through said coupling.
 6. A room airconditioner including a casing having a front grille, an evaporator insaid casing positioned adjacent the front grille, a blower in saidcasing for drawing room air into said casing through the portion of thegrille adjacent the evaporator and for discharging the conditioned airback into the room through another portion of the grille, said blowerbeing of the axial intake, radial discharge type, a generallyimperforate upright partition in said casing spaced inwardly from saidfront grille and defining at least in part a compartment in which saidevaporator and said blower are disposed, said blower having its inletfacing inwardly of the casing toward said partition.
 7. An airconditioner as set forth in claim 6 wherein said partition has a soundinsulating material on the side thereof facing the inlet of the blower.8. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 6 wherein said compartmenthas a generally horizontally extending partition therein dividing saidcompartment into a lower evaporator chamber and an upper air out-letchamber, the outlet of said blower communicating with said upperchamber.
 9. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 6 wherein theoutlet of the blower extends upwArdly through said horizontal partition.10. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 6 including means connectedwith the outlet of the blower and forming a duct extending to said otherportion of the front grille.
 11. An air conditioning unit comprising acasing having top, bottom, end, front and rear panels, a partition insaid casing dividing the casing into a front compartment and a rearcompartment, a compressor-condenser unit in said rear compartment, anevaporator in said front compartment, a fan motor in said rearcompartment having an output shaft extending transversely through saidpartition into said front compartment, a blower in said frontcompartment having an impellor connected to the portion of the motorshaft extending through the partition, said blower having an axial airintake and a radially disposed air outlet, said axial air intake of theblower facing said partition and being spaced forwardly therefrom, meansforming air inlet and outlet openings in said front compartment disposedsuch that when the blower is operated it draws air into said frontcompartment through said air inlet means, across said evaporator tocondition the air and then directs the air outwardly through saidlast-mentioned air outlet means.
 12. An air conditioner as set forth inclaim 11 wherein said radial outlet directs air generally verticallyupwardly in said front compartment.
 13. An air conditioner as set forthin claim 12 wherein said air outlet means comprises an opening in saidtop panel.
 14. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 12 wherein saidair outlet means comprises an opening in said top panel generallyvertically aligned with said radially disposed outlet of said blower.15. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 12 wherein said air outletmeans comprises an opening in said top panel and including means formingan air duct communicating with the outlet means in said top panel, saidduct having an outlet opening therein located remotely from the airoutlet means in the top panel.
 16. An air conditioner as set forth inclaim 15 wherein said duct extends vertically upwardly from said toppanel and the outlet opening therein is located adjacent the upper endthereof.
 17. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 15 wherein saidduct extends laterally beyond said casing and the outlet opening thereinis located adjacent an end thereof disposed laterally beyond the casing.18. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 15 wherein the air outletmeans for the front compartment also includes an opening in the frontpanel of the casing.
 19. An air conditioner as set forth in claim 18including means for varying the amount of air from the blower outletdirected outwardly of said front compartment into said duct and out ofthe opening in the front panel of the casing.